I’m a state legislator, and foreign affairs are not typically my focus. But Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack against Israel irrevocably changed everything — including leading me to speak out.
A conflict more than 6,000 miles away seems complicated or like it’s someone else’s problem. But there’s a simple point people have missed. There is no such thing as “good people on both sides” when it comes to terrorism.
As a child, I experienced antisemitism and violence solely because I was Jewish. My great-grandparents were killed during the Holocaust because they were Jewish. Because of this history I have always been acutely aware that there will be those who hate me solely because I am Jewish, and those who are also capable of targeting me with violence because of this hate. This is just one of the reasons why the Jewish state of Israel is so important to me and so many Jews around the world.
I came to more personally understand terrorism at the same time as much of this country when al-Qaida attacked the United States on 9/11. In fact, it was my Israeli friends who were the first to reach out to me to check on my safety on 9/11, having no comprehension that New York City was far from Illinois. In tiny Israel (about the size of New Jersey), terror attacks are never far from home.
After 9/11, there was a tremendous rise in hate and Islamophobia. Americans of good conscience condemned it because hate has terrible consequences. We saw it this past week when a 6-year-old Palestinian boy was killed in our state. I hope people everywhere join me and others condemning the hatred and evil that ended that boy’s life because hate speech is as dangerous as silence against terrorism. If wrongdoing is not called out, it spreads.
On Oct. 7, our country woke up to the horrific images of unfolding chaos unleashed on the Israeli people by Hamas, a terrorist organization that controls Gaza. At least 1,400 Israelis and others, including Americans, were killed. That is a number so terrifying and overwhelming that my mind cannot process it.
For anyone still unconvinced as to whether Hamas wishes to destroy the entire Jewish state of Israel and Jews anywhere they live, the terrorists’ acts of inhumanity should prove otherwise. A granddaughter watched as her grandmother was killed and filmed by a Hamas terrorist, CBS News reported. Hamas terrorists later posted the video to the grandmother’s Facebook page for all to see.
A new mother and father were forced to hide their infant twins in a shelter as they battled Hamas terrorists in their kibbutz, CBS News reported. The parents’ bodies were found, and the hidden twins were recovered after hours of hiding alone.
Israelis are experiencing unimaginable and inhumane attacks. There is only one appropriate response: unequivocal and universal condemnation of these acts of terrorism by Hamas. There is no room for whataboutism or any sentiment of “both sides” when it comes to terrorism. And yet, too many leaders in our state and country have failed to meet this moment. Even worse, some have gathered to celebrate the killings and cheer on Hamas in the false narrative of liberation or human rights.
This is an opportunity to learn and to remember that if we can condemn terrorism in the United States, we should be able to do the same when it applies to Israel. Anything different reveals a deep-seated vein of antisemitism that has permeated our public discourse for far too long.
It is no accident that Israel is our closest ally in the Middle East and one of our closest in the world. It always stands with us when we need it the most, and we must do the same in the days ahead and beyond. Israel is far from perfect, and I continue to be a vocal critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. But Israel has the right to exist and the right to defend herself. Anyone unwilling or unable to acknowledge that is declaring there should be no Jewish state in the world.
We must have the capacity and compassion to condemn wrongdoing at any time. It pains me that some of my friends and colleagues fail to understand this most basic point, but today every single American should be able to loudly and unequivocally say: “I condemn the deaths of over 1,400 Israeli citizens and others at the hands of Hamas terrorists.”
If your neighbor, elected official or local activist organization cannot speak that truth, they are excusing terrorism, full stop.
State Rep. Bob Morgan represents Illinois’ 58th District. He is co-chair of the Illinois Legislative Jewish Caucus.
